1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video imaging systems and, more specifically, to a mobile video imaging, video communication and video production (VCVP) system designed specifically for the health care industry that provides high-resolution interactive audio, video and data communications between hospital operating room/procedure room environments and other remote locations for education, consulting, surgical assistance, diagnostics, demonstrations, and the like.
2. Description of the Background
There are many geographic areas where rural physicians and health practitioners need continuing education, and possibly real-time guidance from experts in carrying out various surgical procedures, etc. Unfortunately, distance and limited resources make it increasingly complicated for providers to furnish these services. This is especially true for military medics who often need education or guidance on certain procedures in the field. The problem has prompted many efforts to provide education and or real-time assistance via videoconferencing and even remote robotic surgery. Unfortunately, these efforts piece together existing hardware and fail to offer a solution that is economical, productive and cost effective in the various situations which would benefit.
Situations calling for real-time assistance are quite apparent, for example, an army medic who needs to perform an unfamiliar procedure in the field. There are also numerous situations where video production services are required in a medical setting, including academic surgical procedural programs to be used in teaching students, or surgical procedural/promotional programs for medical devices, instructional & assembly programs for mapping out the steps for assembling or using a complicated apparatus, seminar & workshop capture, patient education programs & documentary, sales force motivational programs, etc. Indeed, many surgeries are now broadcast by live event video production and internet broadcasting or satellite uplink. Both recorded program production as well as live event productions require extensive production overhead.
Unfortunately, the army medic has no ready solution. Medical production services are available, but usually in the form of a conventional video crew. The crew equip an operating room with video cameras, microphones, video switchers, audio mixers, both preview and viewing monitors, hundreds of feet of cables, and they record or broadcast the surgery. The work product of the various cameras and crewmen may be broadcast and recorded in real time or turned over to an editor for mixing, editing, to generate a final edited master recorded on tape/digital tape/CD/DVD, etc.
There have been few attempts to consolidate the process in the surgical setting to make it less obtrusive, more flexible in serving all the foregoing needs, and more economical to health care providers. One effort is described in United States Patent Application No. 20030142204 by Rus, Steven H. filed Jul. 31, 2003. This application discloses a surgical lighting control and video system that gives a user access to multiple devices at one station and makes control of the system simpler and more intuitive. A graphical LCD display is used to control a plurality of devices, such as overhead lighting, ambient lighting, cameras, and other operating room accessories. A voice interface allows the surgeon to adjust lighting and other aspects by simply speaking. A foot pedal interface and an infra-red remote control interface grant the surgeon control of the cameras, enabling direct control of rotate and zoom functions of the camera.
Surgeons generally are not capable or willing to attend to all of their own video video imaging, production and communications needs themselves while indisposed with a patient. A better solution would be a mobile video imaging, video communications and video production system capable of being manned by a single trained person. In the context of surgical imaging, such as system must provide high-resolution interactive audio, video and data communications between hospital operating room/procedure room environments and other remote locations for education, consulting, remote surgical assistance, diagnostics, demonstrations, and the like.